Course: Western Civilization 100 (019) Time: Tuesday 7:20 pm 10:00 pm Location: Krug Hall 210 Instructor: Dr. Jessica Legnini Office: Rob B334 Office Hours: By Appointment Contact: jlegnini@gmu.edu George Mason University HIST 100: History of Western Civilization Spring Term 2013 Course Description and Objectives: The aim of this course is to enable students to gain a more thorough understanding of the West from its Mediterranean origins to its role in producing the Modern World. The course will begin with a consideration of pre-enlightenment Europe in relation to the intellectual changes ushered in by the Enlightenment of the 1700s. The course will revolve around four specific, but chronological, topics: Modernity; Industrialization, Nation, and Empire; War, Violence, and the Nation-State; and Mass Culture, Globalization and the Post-Modern. The class will fulfill four specific objectives: students will gain a basic chronological understanding of Western history; they will be able to contextualize and gain a deeper understanding of key problems faced by the West since the 1700s; they will be introduced to the fundamentals of historical analysis through the extensive use of primary source materials; and they will be introduced to recent critiques of the idea of western civilization. Emphasis will be placed upon the application of history as a means for gaining a more meaningful conception of current political and social developments. University General Education Objectives: Students will demonstrate familiarity with the major chronology of Western Civilization. Students will demonstrate the ability to narrate and explain long-term changes and continuities in Western Civilization. Students will identify, evaluate and appropriately cite online and print resources. Students will develop multiple historical literacies by analyzing primary sources of various kinds (texts, images, music) and using these sources as evidence to support interpretation of historical events. Students will communicate effectively orally, in writing, and/or using digital media their under-standing of patterns, processes, and themes in the history of western civilization. Required Text: Patrick O Brien, ed., Atlas of World History, 2nd Edition (Oxford: Oxford UP, 2010). ISBN: 978-0-19-974653-8. Course readings are available on Blackboard. It is your responsibility to print a copy of each inclass reading and bring it with you to class. Alternatively, you may choose to have electronic access to the reading during class. Classroom Expectations: Please do not arrive late to class and please turn off the ringer on your cell phone. For a complete list of university-wide policies see: Student Rights and Responsibilities at http://catalog.gmu.edu/content.php?catoid=19&navoid=4108
Attendance: Due to the nature of the course regular attendance is expected. Students who fail to attend class regularly will be unable to keep up with the course s progression and, therefore, can expect their grade to suffer. Course Requirements: There will be four written reflection assignments (40%) and a final assessment (40%). Class participation will count for 20% of the overall grade. Grades will be given according to the following grading scale: A+ : 98-100 B+ : 87-89 C- : 70-72 D+ : 67-69 F : 0-59 A : 93-97 B : 83-86 C+ : 77-79 D : 63-66 A- : 90-92 B- : 80-82 C : 73-76 D- : 60-62 Due to the nature of the course, assessments can only be made up in extreme circumstances and will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. Important Dates: Class Begins: Tuesday, January 22 Spring Break: March 11-17 Last Class: Tuesday, April 30 Reading Day: Tuesday, May 7 Final Exam: Tuesday, May 14 Weekly Schedule Topic I: Becoming Modern For Topic 1 Read: O Brien, Atlas of World History, 58-63; 66-71; 74-79; 90-97; 100-107; 112-135; 146-159; 160-167. Week 1: Tuesday 1/22: Introduction/The Pre-Enlightenment World (Part 1) Syllabus. How do we define the West? Are there defining characteristics of Western thought? Early Civilizations and the Classical Era. o Ancient Art and Classical Art. Plato, The Nature of the Ideal State, (360 BCE). Week 2: Tuesday 1/29: The Pre-Enlightenment World (Part 2) The Post-Classical and Early-Modern Eras. o Madonna and Child (13th Century) and Michelangelo s Pietá (1499). o Raphael, The School of Athens (1509/10). Thomas Aquinas, excerpt from Summa Theologica (1265-1274). John Locke, excerpt from Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690). Week 3: Tuesday -2/5: The Enlightenment and its Effects The American and French Revolutions.
Immanuel Kant, What is Enlightenment? (1784). Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen (26 August 1789). Excerpts from Jean-Jacques Rousseau The Social Contract (1762). Topic 2: Industrialization, Nation and Empire For Topic 2 Read: O Brien, Atlas of World History, 168-171; 172 193; 194 211 Week 4: Tuesday 2/12: Industrialization Industrialization. Friedrich Engels, excerpt from The Condition of the Working Class in England (1844). Charles Darwin, excerpt from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection (1859) and Herbert Spencer on Social Darwinism (1857). Week 5: Tuesday 2/19: The Liberal-National State Liberalism. Excerpt, John Stuart Mill, On Liberty (1859). Week 6: Tuesday 2/26: Empire European Imperialism. Rudyard Kipling, The White Man s Burden (1899). Edward D. Morel, The Black Man s Burden (1903). Week 7: Tuesday 3/5: Modernism and the Challenge to Positivism/Reason Modernism. o Impressionism, Cubism, Expressionism and Futurism. Auguste Comte A General View of Positivism (1856) Excerpt from Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil (1885). Topic 3: War, Violence and the Nation-State For Topic 3 Read: O Brien, Atlas of World History, 222 223; 228 231; 232 235. Week 8: Tuesday 3/12: NO CLASS SPRING BREAK Week 9: Tuesday 3/19: The Socialist Challenge The Russian Revolution.
Excerpt from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, Manifesto of the Communist Party (1848). Excerpt from Vladimir Lenin, The State and Revolution, The Withering Away of the State, and Violent Revolution (1917). Week 10: Tuesday- 3/26: NO CLASS For next class read: Benito Mussolini, What is Fascism? (1932). Watch Triumph of the Will (1934): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghs2coazlj8 Week 11: Tuesday 4/2: Total War and Civil Violence Fascism WWI and WWII Genocide. Excerpts from The Journal of Private Frasier, 1915-1916. Adolf Hitler excerpt from Mein Kampf (1926). Topic 4: Mass Culture and Globalization For Topic 4 Read: O Brien, Atlas of World History, 236-247; 262-283. Week 12: Tuesday 4/9: Cold War and the Rise of US Hegemony The Cold War, Globalization and Consumerism. o http://www.worldofcoca-cola.com/ o Art by Andy Warhol Excerpts from George Kennan, The Long Telegram, (1946) and excerpt from Walter Lippmann, The Cold War: A Study in U.S. Foreign Policy (1947). Dwight D. Eisenhower, excerpt from the Military Industrial Complex speech. Week 13: Tuesday 4/16: The Sixties The 1960s Malvina Reynolds, Little Boxes, (1962) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_2lgkeu4xs John Lennon, Working-Class Hero at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njg7p6csbcu Bob Dylan, Times They Are a Changing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcwdckptnye Timothy Leary, The Declaration of Evolution. Week 14: Tuesday 4/23: Challenges to the Modern Faith and Modernity and The Postmodern Turn. Week 15: Tuesday 4/30: Putting It All Together Review and Prepare for Final Assessment.
Week 16: Tuesday 5/7: READING DAY: NO CLASS Week 17: Tuesday 5/14: FINAL EXAM Honor Code Plagiarism, cheating, or any act of dishonesty in matters related to academic work is a serious offense. Students will abide by the University s Academic Honor Code. Failure to do so will result in a failing grade and possible dismissal from the student s academic program. For more information visit the website of George Mason s Office of Academic Integrity at http://academicintegrity.gmu.edu/